Apollo Kino opens the Baltic’s first all-laser illuminated theater

Our portfolio of laser-illuminated projectors continues its advance in the cinema market! At the end of April, Estonia’s largest cinema exhibitor Apollo Kino proudly inaugurated the first all-laser illuminated theater in the Baltics. It features six Barco laser-illuminated projectors. Next to the image quality, the low total cost of ownership of Barco’s laser solutions was a big argument for Apollo Kino to go all-laser in Tartu.

Positive past experiences

Established in 2012, Apollo Kino is rapidly expanding its footprint in Estonia’s cinema landscape. The new multiplex in Tartu, which opened at the end of April, is the company’s fifth multiplex. Apollo Kino pulled out all the stops to offer visitors to its latest Tartu an experience that is miles ahead of the one they can have in their living room: exceptionally comfortable seating and catering, VIP services and high-end technology. Based on its positive experiences with Barco laser projectors at its two Tallinn complexes, Apollo installed one Barco DP4K-30L flagship laser projector at its premium format theater. The other five theaters feature DP4K-23BLP smart laser projectors.
Smarter to invest in laser
“We had discovered Barco’s flagship laser technology at CinemaCon, together with the Apollo Management. The picture quality in 3D was extraordinary,” recalls Erik Pauklin of cinema integrator, Digital Emotions. Yet more than the image quality, it was really the total cost of ownership (TCO) that won Apollo Kino over for laser technology, back in 2016. “When calculating the luminance needed for the two premium screens in our Tallinn Mustamaë cinema, we concluded that it would take two DP4K-32B projectors per room to get bright 3D images,” Pauklin explained.

“Investing in one ultra-bright DP4K-60L projector proved to be smarter: it ensures unprecedented image quality, while consuming 40% less power than xenon projectors with the same brightness; no lamps are needed and its superior optical efficiency and long lifetime help cut operating costs.” Shortly after the cinema complex opened, Digital Emotions retrofitted the Apollo Solaris cinema in Tallinn with Barco cinema projectors, including one DP4K-45L laser projector. In Tartu, Apollo Kino has now again raised the benchmark.
A laser solution for every screen size
“The brightness of Barco’s flagship laser projector is amazing, the TCO is indeed low and, more than that, we’ve noticed that the audience is happy to pay extra to be completely immersed in the images. So laser projection helps us raise revenues,” says Rauno Stufflt, CEO at Apollo Kino. “The laser phosphor projectors, for their part, are excellent for all our other screens. They free us from all lamp-related costs and yield significant energy savings when compared to traditional xenon projectors.”